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This is 90% protection against disease, not necessarily 90% protection against infection. There's an important distinction: * Protection against disease means
by DiogenesKynikos 6y ago
This is 90% protection against disease, not necessarily 90% protection against infection. There's an important distinction:
* Protection against disease means that you don't get sick. You may still contract the virus and spread it to others (the Salk vaccine against Polio works this way).
* Sterilizing immunity means that you can't even get infected, so that you can't pass the virus on to other people. It does not look like there's any information about sterilizing immunity in this press release.
Importantly, this means that even with this vaccine, the virus may still be able to spread, and only vaccinated people will be protected (i.e., no herd immunity).
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- estomagordo 6y agoWithout sterilizing immunity, will the amount of virus a vaccinated individual carries match that of a non vaccinated individual, though? I guess what I (a layman) is asking is, even if the vaccinated individual contracts the virus, won't they spread less of it than someone truly sick?
- DiogenesKynikos 6y agoIt depends on the virus and the vaccine. We'll have to wait for further data on this vaccine candidate. The Salk polio vaccine does not prevent infection in the digestive tract, so you can still spread the virus, but it does prevent the virus from spreading beyond the digestive tract and causing paralysis. You could imagine something similar happening with a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine: that it would block infection in the lower respiratory tract but not the upper respiratory tract, allowing you to spread it by coughing and sneezing while never getting severe respiratory issues.
- in_cahoots 6y agoSomeone truly sick is likely to isolate at home, due to the social stigma if nothing else. Someone who is asymptomatic may continue as normal, spreading the disease more easily.
- djrogers 6y ago> Importantly, this means that even with this vaccine, the virus may still be able to spread, and only vaccinated people will be protected (i.e., no herd immunity). Can't we still hit herd immunity as a byproduct of this though? If everyone can pass it along without symptoms, then eventually everyone will have it...
- DiogenesKynikos 6y agoHerd immunity is when people who are not immune are protected by other people's immunity. If enough other people have sterilizing immunity, the virus doesn't spread, and the susceptible people are safe.